Suspect arrested after pointing gun at police, crashing vehicle in downtown St. Louis

(KMOV) – A man who pointed a gun at two St. Louis police officers is in custody after he crashed his car in the downtown area late Monday night.

According to police, two officers spotted Robert Leon Covington driving with no headlights on near the intersection of N. Market and N. Florissant around 11:40 p.m.

The officers tried to pull Covington over but he drove off onto eastbound N. Market. Police say the officers eventually located Covington standing outside his parked vehicle. As one of the officers exited the passenger side, Covington pulled out a gun and pointed it at police.

The officer then opened fire, though Covington was not hit. Police say he then jumped into his vehicle and sped off, but crashed into a chain-linked fence near the intersection of Market and 10th.

Covington got out of the vehicle ran across the street, where he tried to get into a house by frantically kicking the front door. An officer eventually found him hiding in a gangway and took him into custody after a brief struggle.

Covington is charged with armed criminal action, assault of law enforcement officer with aid of a deadly weapon, resisting an arrest, and attempted Burglary.